Fox Valley Metrology Customer Referral Program Best Practices
We're very excited that you're interested in spreading the word about your experience with Fox Valley Metrology. Let's get you some ideas on how you can be the most effective and earn as much money as possible.
Remember, there is no cap on how much you can earn in this program!
The most important place to start will be understanding the following:
- How do I refer someone?
- Who should I refer?
- What should I say?
- Where should the referred company be located?
- When should I send the referral?
- Why should I participate?
Once you have started the referring, you may run into some resistance by your friend to make a switch. After all, sometimes change (and the work that goes into it) can be the hardest thing. Don't worry, though. We make the transition to a new supplier as easy as possible on them.
If you do encounter some hesitation, it will be important to know how to address it. To help you with that, we have given you some suggestions on how to handle the most common objections to switching that you may hear.
Good luck!
How do I refer someone?
How you share your referral message will make the most difference in your success in our referral program. The good news is, we make it incredibly easy for you to do so.
All you have to do is head to your Metrology360 account, and fill out a quick form. (Haven't been there before? Don't worry, if you have ever been a customer of ours, you have an account.)
Once on this page, you will see there are many options available to you:
- Let us send an email
- You will be able to input a custom message to your friend
- We will send them emails designed to increase the likelihood they will opt in
- Send a link
- Via text
- Via email
- Share via social media, such as:
Who should I refer?
Who makes the best sources of referrals? Simply put, any scenario where you have a good relationship with a company who could utilize our calibration services.
Here is a list of ideas to get your brain started on building a list of referral ideas:
Referral Sources
- Other Groups Within Your Organization
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Other departments at your location
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Other locations of your company
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Sister companies
- If you are receiving excellent service from Fox Valley Metrology, it is easy to convince other areas of your company to receive the same benefits.
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Your Suppliers
- Your suppliers make a particularly excellent source. After all, if Fox Valley Metrology is helping you produce a higher quality product, wouldn't you love to have your incoming material be of similar quality?
- Plus, if you are a good customer of theirs, they are likely to listen to what you suggest.
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Other Companies Nearby (i.e. in your industrial park, your city, your region, etc.)
- If you are currently having to pay travel, this could be offset by adding another customer visit to our trip. You and your referral could split the cost of travel, making it an even better win-win!
- Industry Colleagues
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Former Employers
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Friends & Family
Industries
Of course, some industries need our services more than others. So which industries make the best referrals?
Really, any industry that requires companies to utilize test and measurement equipment within their processes.
Certain industries to consider would be:
- Whichever industry you are in
- Whichever industry your suppliers are in
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Contract Manufacturing
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Automotive
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Aerospace
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Electronic Devices
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Foundries
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Medical Devices
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Pharmaceuticals
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Rubber & Plastic Products
By no means are these the only industries that would require calibration. These are just some industries to help get your wheels turning.
Contacts
Now that you have a good idea of what types of companies to refer, who at those companies should you get in touch with us?
Really, anyone within that company involved with their quality program is an excellent start.
Certain people to consider would be those in decision making roles in the following departments:
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Quality Assurance
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Purchasing
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Production
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Management/Executives/C-Suite
Of course, if you do not have that contact, don't worry. Getting us in touch with someone at that company that can point us in the right direction is still better than no contact at all!
What should I say?
So what is the message that you should be sharing with your referrals to increase the likelihood they opt in to the referral program?
Simple. It should be a genuine message from you on the benefit and value that Fox Valley Metrology has provided you. After all, you wouldn't be considering referring us to your friend or colleague if we weren't doing a great job for you.
Here are some things to consider sharing about your experience:
- The hassles we remove from your day-to-day
- The overall quality of our service
- Our Customer Service
- Our turnaround time
- Metrology360 and its benefits (and free price!)
- The breadth of our offerings
To sum it up, you can utilize something similar to our core value proposition:
"Fox Valley Metrology allows me to focus on the things that make a difference, rather than spending all my time managing my calibrations and gaging. They do this by offering a single-source partner for all things gaging, having a 3-5 day turnaround time and by offering Metrology360 - a software program that handles my calibration management for me."
Where should the referred company be?
We perform calibration services in all 50 US states and 26 additional countries worldwide. Simply put, it does not matter where the company is located that you would like to refer. If they have a need, we can help!
When should I send the referral?
The more often you share your referral message, the more likely you are to be successful. Now, we are not suggesting you quit your day job and start spamming your entire contact list. Of course, there is a middle ground here.
Perhaps the easiest way to work this into your routine is use a Fox Valley Metrology job as your trigger. Anytime you send something to us or we come to your facility for calibration, use that as a reminder to say, "Hey, I should probably reach out to somebody about their service and see if I can't get some cash out of a referral." It really is that easy.
Another suggestion would be during your routine, high-level meetings. For example:
- If you want to refer another location of your company, when you are meeting to discuss performance of your quality program, mention Fox Valley Metrology's impact on the successes you are having.
- If you want to refer a supplier of yours, the next time you are discussing your performance with them, work into conversation how Fox Valley Metrology could help them deliver a better product to you and all their customers.
- If you want to refer an industry colleague, the next time you are discussing work (whether it be at an event or at lunch), discuss how our calibration program makes your life easier.
Why should I participate?
At the end of the day, the "why" behind participating in this program is unique to each and every person who participates in this. However, we have stacked the odds in your favor. Here is how.
Think about the other brands you have referred to other people. Regardless of industry, they all had one thing in common - to you, they were "remarkable". This means they created something that made them easily able to be remarked upon.
We know that by delivering the best possible customer experience and continuing to improve that experience daily, we have made ourselves truly remarkable. Too many companies solely focus on how to make the most money off of their customers. We have focused on providing you the best possible experience, by allowing you to focus on the projects that make a difference - not just managing your gages.
So why should you refer us? To help out:
- To help other friends and colleagues of yours experience the same benefits you have received
- To help us continue to grow and provide an even better experience to all our customers
And, of course, cold hard cash in your pocket helps sweeten the "why" for you, too.
Common Objections to Switching
After you have come up with ideas for referrals and have actually gone through the process, sometimes your referral may need some "nudging" to to help them along.
The first, and most important, thing to remind them throughout this process is that this program is not mandatory. Of course, we would never force them into anything they weren't sure about. If they are not absolutely, 100% convinced that Fox Valley Metrology is the right solution for them, they will never hear from us again.
Knowing this, the first step is for them to opt in to the conversation. This is not an agreement to anything other than simply a conversation with one of our sales team members.
Oftentimes, their reluctance to do so falls into one of these categories:
- They are not sure of the validity of this program
- They currently use a different calibration services provider
- They perform calibrations internally
- They are not familiar with Fox Valley Metrology
Knowing how to address each of these responses as they arise will greatly help you gently nudge them in the correct direction. Let's break down some of the best practices in doing so.
1. They are not sure of the validity of this program
We attempt to proactively address this by copying you into communications from our team. If they are still having any hesitancy, this one is simple. Just reach out to them and let them know all is good here. This is definitely the easiest situation to address.
2. They are not sure of the validity of this program
This is likely to be the most common roadblock you run into. As you likely know, calibration is required of most manufacturing companies. These days, the companies not getting calibration already are pretty few and far between.
If you run into this with one of your referrals the process is pretty easy. Simply reiterate the benefits and value you have been receiving from Fox Valley Metrology. This alone should be enough to get them interested.
If they are still hesitant, remind them that it costs nothing to hear us out. What does it hurt to at least compare the service they are getting now to what they could be getting? If nothing else, it would be worth their while to at least do a price check on their current supplier and get a quote from us. After all, why pay more for a lesser service?
3. They Perform Calibrations Internally
This one may be a tough nut to crack. Not because there is a strong business case here (sometimes there is, many times there isn't), but because they are likely dug into this thought process. The biggest thing here to remind them is similar to above - it doesn't cost anything to hear us out.
Often, the decisions to keep calibration internal is done so without understanding all of the costs. Most frequently, it is simply the cost of the equipment that is looked at - not the labor, infrastructure and other costs associated. Getting them in touch with us to help them evaluate the pros and cons of each scenario is in their best interest, even if they decide to stay with the status quo.
Finally, if nothing else, they will need to send their calibration standards out to a third party. Those standards would make the customer eligible for the referral program just the same.
4. They Are Not Familiar With Fox Valley Metrology
Easy peasy. All you need to do here is share your experience with us to them and let them know the value and problem solving we can bring to them.
Additionally, we have a whole page of resources available to you to assist in familiarizing them with our company. No need to memorize anything. Just send one or several of those documents along in an email and they will get the information they need.